


Broken, yet Unspoken, Rules

by An_FNG



Series: Bangalore Week 2020 [7]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Blood, Confessions, Death of family, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Attraction, Sword Cane, Trauma, Zombie AU, death of friends, scavenging for supplies, travel companions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:07:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27521245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/An_FNG/pseuds/An_FNG
Summary: Having lost or looking for what remains of her family after the infection broke out, Anita finds herself with a travel companion who is in a similar situation. Together they work to find supplies, fight off zombies, and maybe become something more to each other.Bangalore Week Day 7 - AU
Relationships: Loba Andrade/Bangalore | Anita Williams
Series: Bangalore Week 2020 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1997770
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32





	Broken, yet Unspoken, Rules

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is! My final entry for the Bangalore week. Thank you all for your patience and I hope you enjoy this one.

Arms stretched up towards the sky as Anita let out low groan, her back and neck cracking in a few spots. They were dropped with a sigh, swinging past her oil and bloodstained flannel shirt and blue jeans before resting on her hips. Light blue sky slowly began to creep up from the horizon, pushing back the remains of the night sky. Anita closed her eyes for a moment and enjoyed the first rays of sunlight peeking through the ruined buildings. The warmth of the sun was one of the few things that she still enjoyed. Dark brown eyes reopened as she turned on her heel and walked back towards the SUV tucked into a thicket of trees. Knuckles rapped against the back window in a one-three-two pattern. Anita popped open the hatch and looked down at the figure curled into the mountain of blankets on the makeshift bed that spanned the trunk and back row of seats. A necessity really, nights got awfully cold, even with a second body to help preserve the heat.

“What infernal logic makes you get up so damn early and let in all that chilly air,” came a grouchy, sleep ridden voice.

“Zombies princess, you want to find breakfast or be breakfast?”

Another grumble was the response. Anita simply walked around to a side door and began to put on the gear she didn’t sleep with. Loba, her travel companion, was always reluctant to get up, but always did in a couple of minutes. She knew the danger they were in and wasn’t one to unnecessarily drag her heels or complain. Anita began to check through their supplies once again, making a note of the things they needed to try and find today. Dark brown eyes wandered to the front of the SUV. She needed to take another look under it and figure out what pieces had to be repaired or replaced before they headed out. The last few notes were scrawled down before Anita knocked on the back of the SUV once again.

“Hurry up Andrade! I’m going under the front for a couple of minutes and need you to keep an eye out.”

“I’m coming, don’t get your flannel all twisted into a knot.”

Thick, leather, thigh high boots with sturdy six inch heels landed on the grassy ground and began to make their way towards her. Anita remembered when she had outright mocked the woman for wearing them instead of the tactical boots she wore. Loba had endured her laughter then smugly demonstrated how capable she was in them and showed off how many of the infected had tried to bite through them to no avail.

“Besides,” her smooth, slightly accented voice continued, “I look gorgeous in them.”

That had shut Anita’s mouth pretty quick and from there on out she had been more careful in questioning the woman’s choice of attire. Oftentimes it didn’t make sense to her at first why Loba preferred the more form fitting clothing, but she knew how to layer well so nothing got torn, bitten through, or worn out too easily. Anita on the other hand preferred the thick flannels and leather jackets on top with blue jeans and cold gear compression leggings underneath. Great for mobility, keeping warm, and she wouldn’t get too upset if they got ruined. Loba was already tying off her long, brown braids as she walked around to where Anita was standing.

“We’re doing a supply run today right?”

“Yup,” Anita nodded as she tossed Loba one of the few nutrition bars they had left; it was never a good idea to start out a day on an empty stomach.

“Double chocolate brownie?” Loba read off as she held the wrapper close. “What kind do you have?”

“Toffee and peanut butter.”

“Trade?”

The nutrition bar was held out towards her, brown eyes looking up at her, trying to get her to accept. Anita promptly took a bite out of hers.

“I traded you yesterday, you get it today.”

A long sigh was let out. “It was worth a shot.”

Anita scoffed as she headed to the front of the SUV, taking another bite of her breakfast. She laid down, wormed herself under, and began to make note of what she still had left to fix.

Having been a car mechanic for most of her life was really paying off right now. Her family owned one and so naturally she ended up working in it. The SUV had been a bit of a lucky find; most cars were in much worse condition due to all of the chaos that broke out along with the infection. Anita closed her eyes and suppressed a sigh. That day almost a year ago was permanently etched into her mind. In the morning there were these strange reports and a few people that had been injured. Jackson and Anita had even taken a couple of people in that had rushed to their shop seeking help and treatment. By the afternoon Anita was backed into the corner of their shop with a gun in her hands with a pile of lifeless bodies on the other side of her makeshift barrier. Jackson’s and those they had tried to help were among those bodies. She had been unable to pull the trigger on her brother when he got bit, so instead she was forced to watch as he shot himself with the last threads of his sanity.

Anita shook her head and focused on the task in front of her, they were burning daylight already. This vehicle, once it was operational it should be able to take them to a few locations Anita suspected the remainder of her family might be holding out. When she had made it to her home that fateful night, she was met with an empty and ransacked place. The only thing she had been able to find was a small backpack of supplies her mother had hidden in her room. From there on out she had more or less been on her own. Traveling companions came and went as either destinations differed or death claimed them. Loba was in fact the traveling companion she had been with the longest.

“Are you done yet? I’m itching to get moving,” the familiar voice called from above.

“Just a sec.” Anita made another quick note, then slid out from under the SUV. “Alright, got our list here, I’ve got all my gear ready to go, are you?”

“Yes, yes, now give me half of the list and lets get this over with,” Loba snatched the paper out of her hands.

Anita grabbed it back. “No, we stick together remember?”

“We’ve been through this city multiple times, there’s hardly any infected left.”

“That we’ve seen, who knows if there’s another horde hiding somewhere, or if one is passing through.”

“Fine,” Loba rolled her eyes.

The two headed out of the thicket of trees, down the steep hill, and into the eerily quiet streets of the desolate city. Supplies were located one by one and stuffed into their backpacks. Upon noticing a jewelry store they hadn’t been in yet, Loba took a short detour to check out what still remained. Anita scanned the area for any threats and followed her in.

Early on in their journeys together, Loba’s need to stop and check out jewelry, cosmetics, and fancy accessories had really gotten on Anita’s nerves. They all seemed like a waste to her, but over time and a few arguments, she came to understand that those were some of the few things Loba took joy in, just like she enjoyed the warmth of the sun and sitting in the driver’s seat of whatever fancy car they passed by.

Dark brown eyes watched with amusement as the beautiful woman tried on a variety of tasteful combinations of jewelry. It was like a mini fashion show, one Anita had begun to enjoy more than she would ever dare to admit. Loba would put on her accessories, strut down a clear walkway while staring Anita down, then pose, turn, and walk back with her round hips swaying back and forth. It was no secret that Anita found Loba attractive, it had been given away early on in their travels together by Loba catching one of Anita’s inadvertent lingering gazes. She had instantly apologized but was brushed off when Loba turned around and admitted that Anita had a pleasing, chiseled look to her that Loba liked to admire from time to time. The blush that had formed on her cheeks after hearing that burned like the midday sun in the summer. However, despite those traded confessions, the two hadn’t lowered many of their walls physically, mentally, or emotionally. Getting attached to a travel companion only left room for a lot of hurt if something ever happened to them. After Loba had presented a few sets of jewelry she concluded the fashion show so they could head onto the next items on their list.

Searching through the auto-mechanic shop had been a pain, everything had been thrown about inside forcing the both of them to spend nearly two hours to find the parts and tools Anita needed to make the repairs. Anita checked over the list again, marking off all of the things they had found.

“What’s left?” Loba spoke up as she idly played with the stainless steel wolf cane she always carried around.

“Hygiene products, and hopefully more food.” The paper was folded up and slipped into her pocket. “I’m thinking we can try hitting the northeast section of the city, we haven’t been there much so maybe we will have better luck.”

“Your guess is as good as mine Annie.”

Anita’s ears perked up at that nickname. It wasn’t one Loba used often, so it made her pause for a second before leading the way out of the shop.

Getting to the northeast part of the city took an hour making Anita’s stomach slowly churn. They only had a few more hours worth of sunlight left and if they didn’t clear this area quickly they might end up traveling in the dark. The zombies weren’t any more active at night than they were during the day, it was just harder to see them and any other dangers that might be lurking about. Anita held her pistol a little tighter and traded a glance with Loba. She seemed as calm as ever. Anita pulled in a deep breath of air and slowly let it out, doing her best to ease the tension in her body. No matter what they had each other’s back.

The first few markets they checked out were picked clean, but they pushed on, taking care of the random zombie they ran into along the way. Eyebrows furrowed as Anita checked how much farther the sun had moved. They needed a stroke of luck or something soon, she really didn’t want this trip to be in vain. Fortunately, their efforts paid off as they found a grocery store inside of a mall that hadn’t been entirely emptied. Bandages, packaged food, and even a few bars of soap were found.

Anita hummed lightly as she pushed a shopping cart down the isles, filling it up with whatever things she found that were still good. Off to her right side and a few rows over Loba was doing the same. After collecting everything and sorting through what they could carry, they were sure to make a great haul. Feet suddenly stopped as Anita felt the air around them shift. She signaled to Loba to halt and listen. Dark brown eyes darted around the grocery store as her ears straining to pick up the slightest sound. It only took a second to detect it as it was ingrained into her brain. That gurgled, raspy panting accompanied by unsteady feet sprinting forward. Judging by how loud it was, there were far too many for them to fight. Anita slung her backpack off her shoulders and stuffed it with as many of the essentials in her basket as she could. Dark brown eyes met Loba’s worried glance as they began to move closer together and silently make their way towards one of the exits.

Sounds of pursuit didn’t fade when they got out of the grocery store or the mall. The infected knew they were there and they weren’t going to rest until they found and ate them. Anita glanced over her shoulder at the sun starting to sink behind the ruined buildings, they only had a few minutes of light at best. They raced down the main street, slowly losing their distance from the group of twenty or so zombies chasing them.

“We’re not going to out run them,” Loba got out between breaths.

They needed a barrier of some sort to make their stand. Anita caught sight of a chain link fence resting next to one of those concrete barriers. It wasn’t much, but provided cover on every side except for one.

“Over there,” Anita pointed, “between that building and the barrier.”

“Got it.”

They made a dash for it and drew their guns as soon as they were behind it. Anita made sure to take the side of the barrier that had the opening, making it so she was between the zombies and Loba. Careful shots were taken, picking off at least 8 of the zombies between the two of them. Loba dropped down to reload while Anita switched from her rifle to her handgun, knocking a couple more with her cover fire.

“Close combat in thirty seconds or less!” Anita warned as she finished off her magazine and switched to her bat.

Loba cursed as she shoved the full magazine into her pistol.

The first zombie that attempted to vault the barrier had their head bashed in with a homerun swing. Bodies rattled against the chain link fence as they attempted to push through it to get to Loba. One by one they were dropped as she fired lethal shots into each of their heads. Anita swung again, knocking another to the side, but she was already out of time as the remainder of the zombies went around the barrier and rushed her, tackling her to the ground.

“Annie!” came Loba’s distressed cry.

Legs kicked out against the rotten, living corpses trying to crawl all over her as she covered her face and neck with her arms. Her heart pounded in her chest as she could feel their hands and teeth pressing against her thick clothing. Just one bite and she was done for. Anita dared to peak through her arms only to see a zombie crawling up her front and reaching for her face. A flash of steel sliced through the air and a split second later that zombie’s head was now rolling off her chest, completely severed from its body. Blood splattered on her clothing and began to rain down on her as the blade continued to make quick work of the last few zombies; Loba shouting profanities in Portuguese with each one she cut down. Once the last raspy voice faded into silence, a familiar hand was held out to help Anita to her feet.

“Grab your backpack and get moving, others will be on their way soon,” Loba quickly stated.

Anita nodded. As she did so Loba cleaned off her blade and slid it back into the main body of the stainless steel wolf cane. It had to have been a close fight for her to have used that. With their guns reloaded and the supplies back on their shoulders, they began the journey back to the SUV in the dark.

“I’m clean I swear!” Anita whispered as she tried to knock away the hands that were reaching for the hem of her shirt.

“I am going to check for myself,” Loba practically growled out.

“Would you- hey!” Anita objected as her shirt was tugged off over her head, leaving her in only her bra and boxer briefs. “Don’t you dare take anything else off me.”

Loba didn’t respond, she was far too focused on examining every centimeter of her body from her head, to her sides, to her finger tips, to her toes. Only once she was completely satisfied did she let out a soft sigh and turn off the light inside of the SUV.

“Can I get dressed now?” Anita hissed as she sat there shivering on their makeshift bed, shooting a glare over her shoulder.

There was no verbal response, just a pair of warm arms wrapping around her from behind and pulling her against Loba’s front.

“Lo-”

“Hush.”

Anita threw her hands up in confusion, yet didn’t try to say anything else as she began to relax into the warm hold. Hug. It was a hug. Loba was hugging her. Anita suddenly became very aware of the position they were in. Loba’s legs were on either side of her torso while her face was pressed against the side of Anita’s head. She didn’t dare move, afraid that she might touch something or shift into an awkward position. For several minutes they stayed like that with Loba tightly hugging her. Anita stared out into the darkness surrounding them, trying to figure out if she should say anything.

“Do you remember when we first met?” Loba softly spoke up.

How could she forget? They had run into each other in the middle of a store not too different from the one they had been looting earlier. For the first thirty minutes they held each other at gunpoint far too mistrustful to consider lowering them. It was only when a few zombies came at them did they put their focus elsewhere and work to kill the small band of infected together. After that and talking things out a little more did they decide to travel together.

“I do,” Anita said.

“I was so tired that day,” Loba sighed. “Tired of killing, tired of watching everyone I care about die, tired of running into despicable humans that only saw me as a vessel to repopulate the earth with.” Arms tightened their hold for a second. “And then we ran into each other. Two lost individuals trying to survive a hopeless situation.”

Anita remained quiet, sensing that Loba had more to say.

“The person I was traveling with before you, one of my last living friends, was Jaime. We made a great team and managed to keep each other’s spirits up despite the horrors we had witnessed and been a part of.” One arm pulled away from the hug and slid down Anita’s muscular arm until Loba gently held her by the base of her hand. “One bite from an infected child was hidden from me because he thought it wasn’t deep enough or diseased enough. I was forced to say my farewells with a bullet between his eyes as he jumped for my throat.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, I just wanted you to understand why I had to see for myself,” came the firm statement. Loba rubbed the side of her face against Anita’s head ever so slightly. “Let’s go to bed, I’m tired.”

Anita pulled her clean clothes back on and slipped under the covers with Loba. Much to Anita’s surprise, instead of sleeping in a loose hold facing the same direction, Loba turned into her chest and pulled her close. It was an odd break in their unspoken agreement, but one Anita decided to let slide for tonight. Having that close of a call always took its toll. Strong arms wrapped around Loba’s torso as Anita’s eyes drifted shut.

The next morning was awkward to say the least. There was this tension in the air between them and Anita kept on catching Loba staring at her as they got ready for the day. Anita dismissed it, rationalizing that Loba was probably watching out for any signs of infection. After breakfast she began to pull out the auto parts from her backpack. Hopefully by the end of the day she would have most of the repairs done.

“Annie?” Loba called out as she walked over to her.

There was that nickname again. Anita was sure Loba had said it earlier this morning too when they woke up.

“Yeah?”

“I have something to say.”

Anita’s stomach instantly tensed up.

“What is it?” she said as calmly as she could while she set down the backpack and faced Loba.

For a moment Loba refused to look at her, until she had taken a deep breath and rolled back her shoulders. “I’m not going to apologize for last night.”

Anita opened her mouth to reassure Loba that it was no issue, when a hand was held up, indicating that she still had more to say.

“I was scared Annie, and I am not going to keep on pretending that losing you wouldn’t hurt me.”

What?

“I know the risks of getting attached in this fucked up world, but you’ve been a ray of light in my life and it’s not just because you’re the only decent human I’ve talked to in the past six months.” She paused as a faint smile formed on her painted lips. “I care about you Annie.”

Perfectly shaped eyebrows were ever so slightly furrowed as she spoke. This wasn’t an easy thing for her to say.

“And what is the point of fighting to survive every day if we have no chance to experience the joys of life again? I want to laugh, I want to relax, I want to let a few walls down between us.”

Those last words made Anita tilt her head to the side. “Like what kind of walls?” She dared to ask.

Loba’s expression softened as she stepped forward so the space between their bodies vanished and gently held Anita’s face.

“These walls,” her whisper danced across Anita’s mouth before she pressed their lips together.

A short breath of air was pulled in through Anita’s nose before she relaxed into the kiss, her arms coming up to rest on Loba’s waist. It was short and soft, yet it made Anita’s face heat up and her heart hammer in her chest. She could feel traces of the lipstick sticking to her own as Loba pulled away. Dark brown eyes reopened and gazed down at the woman that had become such a huge part of her life these past months.

“I-I uh…um…” Anita huffed as her words got all tangled up. “I-I don’t mind-uh- lowering a few walls around you either.”

It was supposed to come out much smoother than that, but she had obviously failed. Loba’s confused face only made it worse. Anita leaned forward and firmly pressed their lips together to more properly communicate her answer. Arms were wrapped around Anita’s neck as Loba smiled into the kiss.

Each day always held a variety of unknowns, but for now they had each other and maybe facing those unknowns together would make them seem like much less of a daunting feat.

**Author's Note:**

> A little sweet Lobalore to wrap things up.
> 
> Thanks again for all of your wonderful comments throughout this challenge week! It had been great :D


End file.
